2 Eagle Projects

Josh Morris designed and built 5 Bat Boxes. Camarillo has a shortage of housing for bats. Bats are very helpful in controlling the insect population in our area. To accommodate the local bats in our area the Bat Houses had to be built to special specifications. Then they had to be painted black to retain the heat from the day through the night.
The boys fearless leader-Bro. Hunter
After the Bat Houses were built, they needed to be installed at the Pleasant Valley Historical Museum Gardens. Looks like hard work!

With a little help from Bro. Barton the Bat Houses are mounted to the poles. The poles have to be a certain height from the ground and set in concrete.

Josh attaching the last Bat Box to the bracket on the pole.

Eagle Projects are never possible without the help of good leaders and good friends!

Ethan, Drew, Jake, Scott, Sam, Zach, Jacob, Will, Alex, Jason, Andrew, Brian, Evan, Robert, Paul, Andrew, Mike, Tyler and of course, mom & dad!

Robert's Project was at Monte Vista Middle School. They added a 2 benches and four trees to the quad. It looks so great now and will be there for many generations.

Thanks for all your help: Jake, Ethan, Drew, Sam, Zach, Josh, J.P., Will, Alex, Tanner, Evan, Trevor, Brian, Andrew, Jacob, Kristen, Beth, Bro. Henderson, Bro. Hunter, Bro. Barton and of course...mom & dad!

Awesome Red Bench-Monte Vista's colors are RED and Black! The boys dug out the dirt and set the bench in concrete.

The quad looks really great with the addition of the 4 trees and 2 benches.

The center of the quad is of tile and makes a great place for the students to gather.

This drill works a little faster and easier than the old fashioned shovel!

The dirt was so compacted-it was like concrete! They had to get the big-guns out! Thank goodness Robert knows someone who can rent those kind of tools!

Keep digging!!!!!

Good Job Robert!

Gardening Class at Stevenson's

We had another informative Gardening Class. Linda showed us the proper way to prune roses. She also gave us some valuable tips on keeping Hydrangeas.
Chuck explained the importance of trimming off your dead flowers to promote continuous blooming.

The best of the evening was these biodegradable pots. They are made of newspaper and are excellent starter containers for your veggies.

Here you see the finished product. Notice the wood "knob" in the back of the photo. Chuck made a couple of these and gave them as "door prizes". These are used to make the paper containers. They're called "Wooden Pot Makers".

Follow the instructions below to make the biodegradable containers.

Chuck shows how the wood pot makers come apart. There is a top and a bottom.

Roll the newspaper around the post snugly. Let about 2 inches of newspaper extend below the wood post.

Continue rolling until the entire length of newspaper is used.

Fold the bottom of the newspaper in toward the center and place the bottom wood post under bottom of newspaper. Apply a lot of pressure.

Remove wood pieces and you have your very own biodegradable starter container!

Here is a view of the inside of the pot. Don't have a wooden pot maker??? No worries---you can use an aluminum soda can or a 15 oz tomato can. You can also purchase them on-line for approximately $15.00. Or, you might barter with our wonderful Bro Stevenson---a pot maker for a fresh baked loaf of bread or jar of homemade jam!

June Cooking Class: BBQ Tips and Grilling by Outback Proprieter; Cameron Gaisford

Cameron Gaisford, Proprietor of the Oxnard Outback Steakhouse, was our guest speaker for the June Cooking Class. Here he is with mom, Bonnie
He came with all his gear, tons of food, and vast knowledge of grilling to share with us tips and information on choosing the best cut of beef, what are the choices in cuts of meat, rubs and seasonings, tips for grill prep and best of all...how to bake the perfect potato.

How to make the Perfect Baked Potato: Wash potato and dry. Rub in margarine and then roll in Kosher salt. Place into a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 1 hour. Do not wrap in foil, do not poke with fork. Excellent every time! Cameron did an outstanding job of teaching us tips and tricks to make our BBQ meals even better.

He brought delicious appetisers, incredible baked potatoes and even steaks for us to sample and enjoy.

Sear your meat to seal in the juices. Approximately 3-5 minutes per side.

Your grill should be 450-500.

Test your meat with a meat thermometer for denseness.

For Rare beef: 140 degrees,

Medium Rare: 145-150,

Medium: 155-160,

Medium Well: 165,

Well: 170-180.

Cameron took quite a bit of time explaining the different cuts of beef commonly used in grilling and the benefits of each cut.

The Rib Eye is the best "All Around" steak. They can also be purchased bone in.

The Fillet is the best for tenderness. It is cut from the "non-working" part of the cow so that it is more tender.

The T-Bone is like 2 steaks in one; flavorful strip and fillet tenderloin. It is cut from the middle section of the short loin.

Porterhouse Steak is similar to the T-Bone. It is cut from the rear end of the short loin and has larger cuts of the strip and tenderloin.

3 Tips for your grill: Clean, well oiled and very hot. Cameron uses BUTTER!!! He also used a variety of seasonings made from combinations of spices we all use everyday. Picking the right "Grade" of beef is very important. Try to use "USDA Choice" for better flavor, less grisel and less fat. Some fat is wanted for flavor-some marbling is good, but too much fat is just that-too much fat. Remember that you are paying "by the pound" whether that's a pound of fat or a pound of meat.

The line begins!

The talented sisters in our ward outdid themselves, AGAIN! The variety of tasty salads and homemade rolls was enjoyed by all.

Grandma June is always the first to hold the new grand baby's!

3 of our FAVORITE sisters enjoying their delicious meal together.
This was such a great event to bring your friends, neighbors and extended family to. Here is the Jenkins Klan with Alan's sister and beautiful Corine.
Our wonderful hostess, Pam. She and Rex are always so gracious in opening their beautiful home to us. Also pictured is Barbara and Kyle visiting for awhile from Utah. It was so great to visit with her and catch up on her new life as a mommy.
Jarrod and Bonnie came and had a fun time!

Thank you, Cameron, for a wonderful and delicious evening!!!

Guardian Angels-Protecting our Families by Bonnie

A guardian angel is an angel thought of as watching over a particular person, a defender of that person. In the Bible dictionary and the topical guides there are no references to guardian angels. Elder John A. Widtsoe stated that there is no evidence that every person is assigned a guardian angel, one who would give each of us special help. “In fact, the constant presence of the Holy Spirit would seem to make such a constant, angelic companionship unnecessary.”
We, as mothers, think of ourselves as the guardians of our homes not unlike those mothers of the stripling warriors who taught their sons to “. . . keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” [Alma 53:22] Their mothers taught them “. . .that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them . . . [they did] not doubt that [their] mothers knew it.” [Alma 56:47-48]
Out children need protection daily from drugs, pornography, foul language, music that does not uplift, movies that do not invite the spirit, violence. How do we arm our children to successfully face the world they go outside our homes. Are we teaching our children Celestial principles? Are we following the counsel that we have received from Prophets of the Lord? Do we implement the programs given to us from the Prophets, say, for example, do we hold weekly Family Home Evening? Why was this program been given to us?
“If the Saints obey this counsel [to hold regular family home evenings], we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations with beset them.” [Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose, First Presidency letter, 27 April 1915]
Why do we struggle in implementing this program if the purpose of holding FHE is to help us protect and guard our families? Young children have short attention span.Teenagers are busy, they might have attitudes, or be rebellious. Then families with a range of ages of children– how do you teach to reach one age without losing the other? And what about single adults, couples or empty-nesters– is it necessary for them to hold family home evening? The answer is a resounding YES because we all grow closer to the spirit if we will follow the guidance of the Prophets.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie (The Probationary Test of Mortality, University of Utah, Jan. 10, 1992) stated that “. . . everyone in the Church who is on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling and desiring to do what is right, though is far from perfection in this life; if you’re on that path and pressing forward and you die, you’ll never get off that path. There is no such thing as falling off the straight and narrow path in the life to come and the reason is that this life is the time that is given to men to prepare for eternity. If you are on that path when death comes . . . you’ll never fall off from it, for all practical purposes your calling and election is made sure.”
Family home evening doesn’t have to be complicated. A basic family home evening format would be (1) prayer, (2) song, (3) scripture, (4) lesson, (5) prayer When you have young families, it could take 5 minutes to cover everything. Using this format, we teach gospel principles to all different ages of children. I know we are all busy but is this program too difficult for us to follow?
And where do we get ideas for lessons? We have resources to help us from scripture story books and videos to LDS.org. You can even google “family home evening” to get creative ideas that work from other families who have tried them. Have you ever thought of taking a hymn and making that the basis for a family home evening lesson? If your family is struggling to hold family home evening why not combine with another family, or share ideas with someone who has had the same struggles.
If we will have faith, and rely on the spirit, the Lord will assist us to hold family home evening. Hasn’t the Lord told us “. . . for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left . . . my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88 )
Will we be among those who knew? Will we be mothers who prepare our children to face the world fully protected?Will we be the guardian angels of our homes?
Lets all work together and help each other to succeed.